Just over 2,000 homes were rendered uninhabitable in parts of western Turkey by a 5.9 magnitude temblor that killed three people late on May 19.

Terrified residents around Kutahya province rushed into the streets when the quake struck at 11:15 p.m. local time about 200 miles west-southwest of the capital, Ankara.

One of the fatalities occurred when the victim jumped out of a window during the height of the shaking.

Many residents remained outside in parks, on the street or in their vehicles due to fears of strong aftershocks.

"It was so strong that we could not even move in the first few seconds," lawmaker Idris Bal told NTV television. "People are waiting in their cars now."

The shaking was felt as far away as the Aegean city of Izmir, Istanbul and the city of Edirne and near Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria.

The fatalities and nearly 200 injuries that occurred during the sharp temblor were blamed on shoddy construction.

Turkish authorities have been struggling to enforce stricter building codes since two devastating earthquakes killed about 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey in 1999. But many structures are quite old and would be nearly impossible to make more earthquake resistant.

Several fault lines cross Turkey, which is frequently shaken by strong quakes.